Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-10-20
PILOT KNOB.
An Excursion to This Historic Iron
Mountain-A Party of Old Soldiers
Visit Their Camping Place
of 1861.


nois volunteer infantry, to the numbe
of about 100, met yesterday and the day
before at the general reunion at st
Louis. Just twenty-six years ago yes
terday our regiment landed at ST. Louis
on what was then considered hostile
soil. We proceeded at once to the Iror
Mountain railroad, received our musk
cts as we halted at the srmory, anC
journeyed by freight train 10 Piloi
Knob, through country swarmine
with guerrilIas and bridge-burners
Our guns were in boxes, and, green al
we were at soldering, we were wise
enough to know that we should present
a sorry front to sudden attack from
the enemy.
A dozen of us went over the same
lire of railroad yesterday, on all excur
sion to the Pilot Knob, lroDton and
Arcadia camp grounds, to revisit the
scenes of twenty-siX years ago. Time
had of course laid lis heavy hand upon
those who took this trip in 1861, but
old father Time must have been little
shocked to see how he had failed tC
bow us down with our proper share ol
dignity, for we were
JUST AS GAY AND FROLICSOME
as when we were the "boys" WI hich we
persist in still calling each other. Mis-
souri, is the same old Missouri still as
far as natures aspect appears. There
are the same rocky cliffs and cayerDs
by the roadside, the same clear running
streams, almost the same number OF
acres of cleared farms, the same bea u
iFrl \, nd nj q ta6
in exactly the same style of rIpened
green, brown and gold, and our "hoys"
declared they saw the same razor back
ed hogs dodging among the brush to
tempt the hunter to a shot or chase.
AS we journeved along, familiar
scenes were pointed out by some who
had been detailed to guard railroad
bridges. The exact spot where the late
Gen.-then Capt. Lippincott-fought
off the Rebel soldier was sho" n-and
pretty soon we passed the bridge where
Gen.-then Capt. Elliott-with almost
the whole of ''E'' company was capt
ured on the same day. Truly did we
" fight our battles DER again, and
fighting by rail I'D these pleasant times
of peace was found to be highly enjoy
able-so much SO that we regretted our
whole regiment could not DE present
to enjoy the same.
DIR. Edwin May, who was our assist
ant surgeon, now living at Annapolis,
Iron county, Mo-, twenty miles from
IrOnton, was with our party, and VT
are indebted to him, as we'll as to Judge
7. p. Russell and others of our old
Ironton and Arcadia friends, tor car
riages, which met US at the depot and
conveyed us to our old camp grounds
and other points of interest.
THE, LADIES OF OUR PARTY
consisted of the wife and daughter of
Comrade DR.. Plecker, of Chicago, and
Mrs. Bardwell, of Greenfield, Massa
chusetts, who was formerly the wife
of Capt. Kellogg. She had lived with
her husband in Bloomington when he
was teacher of the high school there,
and had lived with him during most
of the past winter at IrOnton. or rather
Arcadia, and she was as deeply inter-
ested as any of US. 1t will be remem-
bered Capt. Kellogg was killed at
Vicksburg in 1868.
Our first stop was at old Fort Hovey.
as we call it, at Arcadia, where the 33d
put in many a days hard work. well
remember my first days duty there
when / reported with detail of 100
men the day after our arrival, and the
enthusiasm threw them into "log roll
ing" We felt we were doing our share
at last towards the protection Of the
outposts of St. Louis, and our pride in
our work was most intense. How few
of those heavy logs would have been
placed in position had We known what
was told us to-day, that when the ene-
my approached Pilot Knob
without an effort and the defense Gen.
tered in another fort built at a later
date nearer Pilot Knob, and even that
was at last surrendered.
The outlines of our old fort are still
plainly to be seen, aud in one place a
high ridge of earth is left standing, but
most of the works have been leveled
and simple village church stands al
earthworks. a quarter of century
here has most assuredly changed the
face of affairs, and this house is we'll
calculated to make us feel much older
than our actions to-day would indicate.
Other changes might be noted. Our
old camping ground below the fort
which we left fine grove of trees, is
now wholly cleared. IrontoD, from
being q struggling village has grown
into quite a thrifty young city, fully
four times as populous as in 1861. Ii
has even spread out and taken in oul
camp, several houses and gardens be-
ing where our morning roll calls'ant
evening "taps" regulated our daily
lives. In place of the foot log over the
creek. which only sober men, and mo-
all of them, could cross, is handsome
iron bridge. Between Ironton and
Pilot Knob is the IroDton depot-ane
| lust back of the old Harris hotel a
Arcadia, is the depot for this village
and the
IRON HORSE GOES wHISTLING DOWN
THE SOUTHERN VALLEY,
where our pickets kept close watch o
all entering loads of sweet potatoes
What jollr good times those picket
must have had? Every soldier wa
anxious for picket duty in those days
but it was quite another thing whel
Marmaduke (now governor of poor OLE
| Missouri) was believed to be close a
| hand on our march towards Arkansas
a hundred miles from here.
We are lingering long time on th'
site of old Fort Hovey-a flood of recol
lections come unbidden to our minds
and the grand scenery of the valley al
| most effaces them. We wrote tina
while Arcadia at our feet to the south
has changed but little in general ap
pearance- Ironton has grown muct
| larger, and the timber land in our i'm
mediate vicinity has been cleared II
such an extent that at frs. sight w,
scarcely recognize the familiar scenes
| we expected, but extending our view
| TO the distance, we are at home at once